Patient support apparatus for a magnetic resonance apparatus

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a patient support apparatus for a magnetic resonance apparatus, a system including a patient support apparatus and at least one local coil, and a magnetic resonance apparatus. The patient support apparatus includes a patient table having a table surface for positioning a patient. The patient table includes at least one table-side contact field, (e.g., an electrical table-side contact field), for electrically contacting at least one local coil. The at least one table-side contact field is integrated in a flush manner into the table surface.

1 . A patient support apparatus comprising:
 a patient table for a magnetic resonance apparatus,   wherein the patient table has a table surface for positioning a patient,   wherein the patient table has at least one table-side contact field for contacting at least one local coil, and   wherein the at least one table-side contact field is integrated in a flush manner into the table surface of the patient table.   
     
     
         2 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one table-side contact field is integrated in a watertight manner into the table surface. 
     
     
         3 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one table-side contact field comprises at least one galvanic contact and/or at least one optical interface. 
     
     
         4 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one table-side contact field comprises a circuit board. 
     
     
         5 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the circuit board is a printed circuit board. 
     
     
         6 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one table-side contact field is freely accessible. 
     
     
         7 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the patient table further comprises at least one guide element for guiding or positioning the at least one local coil. 
     
     
         8 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the patient table further comprises at least one detector configured to detect a local coil of the at least one local coil that is disposed on the table surface. 
     
     
         9 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the patient table further comprises at least one detector configured to detect a local coil disposed on the table surface. 
     
     
         10 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the patient support apparatus configured, upon detection of the local coil disposed on the table surface, to switch a table-side contact field of the at least one table-side contact field into an active state. 
     
     
         11 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one detector comprises at least one capacitive detector, at least one inductive detector, at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one detector comprises at least one optical detector. 
     
     
         13 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one detector is configured to identify properties of coil elements of the local coil when the local coil is disposed on the table surface. 
     
     
         14 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the properties comprise resonance properties of the coil elements of the local coil. 
     
     
         15 . The patient support apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one detector is arranged underneath the table surface. 
     
     
         16 . A system comprising:
 at least one local coil; and   a patient support apparatus comprising a patient table for a magnetic resonance apparatus,   wherein the patient table has a table surface for positioning a patient,   wherein the patient table has at least one table-side contact field for contacting the at least one local coil,   wherein the at least one table-side contact field is integrated in a flush manner into the table surface of the patient table, and   wherein the at least one local coil comprises at least one coil-side contact field corresponding to a respective table-side contact field of the at least one table-side contact field.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one local coil comprises a head coil, a spine coil, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one coil-side contact field and/or the at least one table-side contact field comprise at least one spring contact and/or at least one sliding contact. 
     
     
         19 . A magnetic resonance apparatus comprising:
 a patient support apparatus having a patient table for the magnetic resonance apparatus,   wherein the patient table has a table surface for positioning a patient,   wherein the patient table has at least one table-side contact field for contacting at least one local coil, and   wherein the at least one table-side contact field is integrated in a flush manner into the table surface of the patient table.